Silicone polymers have received considerable attention as potential contact lens materials because of their high oxygen permeability. However, one major obstacle preventing the adoption of silicone polymers for contact lenses has been the hydrophobicity inherent in silicone compounds and polymers. Efforts to treat silicone polymers to produce sufficient surface wetability to be acceptable to the contact lens profession have not been successful. Neither have efforts to copolymerize silicone compounds with conventional contact lens monomers been successful.